zirtaeb: Not necessarily, but you need to be aware that there's a zillion things to consider---distance from the tail vs. overall length of the board, rocker line variations, rider weight, type of sailing, type of sail, fin position, and the big granddaddy of them all, PERSONAL PREFERENCE. I'm saying try different things to see what you like, and not try to go on a fixed formula based on somebody else's preferences. To compare me to Wyatt Miller is a joke, he's 10 times the sailor I am, so why would I automatically use his settings? I might START at his settings, but then adjust it back & forth to see what works for me.

What I usually do (for flat water) is start way back, then scooch it forward 2 cm at a time until it feels like it's "stuffing" the nose, then back off a tiny bit. For speedsailing I run it back a bit more to get more board out of the water and to prevent pearling, which can be quite painful at 35+ mph.._________________Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net

For most speedsailing NOT on a pond, or a ditch, mast forward and high booms is best.
Contrary to rational thought? Yes.
But, that is what works for non pro's who are looking for top speeds. Huge sails rigged flat tend to jerk you forwards if your mast base is less than 23" from center of front straps.
Track forwards keeps the nose somewhat up, but more important, keeps the board from pitching nose up and nose down, which is catching your front rails.
Yes, I do know what I'm talking about.
No, the whole late '90's style of track back and low booms DO NOT WORK for anyone who has competitive speed.
Tyson is 6'2" and some change. His track on this 109 Slalom is just under 24" from center of his front straps. On his freestyle gear, closer to 17.5.
Fastest slalom sailors here in Berkeley tend to run around 23.5 distance from center of front strap to center of mast base.
Formula closer to 25.5".
Gotta start somewhere proven, then experiment from there.

i am 6'4", 210lbs and have my mast track always just behind the middle (~1-2cm) on my 84Quad LS and 102 Thruster LS. front straps all the way in the front, rear all the way in the back (i have long legs of course ). Boom at ~145cm. 32" harness lines Works in 9 out of 10 conditions for me. only when very lite winds do i move my mast track an inch forward on my 102 to generate planing area. in very strong winds i do the same on my 84 to make it feel more planted and avoid tail walking. those are the 1 in 10 occasions... no real need to over think.

Most designers of shortboards figure out that the board works best within a few centimeters of a fixed spot given the type of sailor likely to buy the board. Most boards that have a short or no flat (high aspect or just wavy) tend to employ the most limited range of mast foot positions, so the designers tend to plop the middle of the box right in that spot, so minor adjustment for preference can be made on either side.

FW boards -especially older ones- offer some exception to this, primarily because the sailors vary so much. A very heavy guy actually might want his mast foot farther back and booms lower than a lighter and shorter sailor who may want to move the mast foot forward and booms higher to gain more power and control in chop.

One thing is certain, 22" harness lines tend to be limited to old race sails that worked well only when totally lit, or for people sailing only totally wound up._________________Support Your Sport. Join US Windsurfing!
www.USWindsurfing.org

what do you think, is my mast track to far forward? lol
60 cm from front straps to mast base here,
whatever, i pulled this 25 yr old board out of the rafters a couple of weeks ago just for a joke, but its been my 'go to' board since. had five days on it now, and used sails from 4.2 to 5.7.. and have to say this is for sure the best carving board ive ever been on. holds a line great when over powered on a wave..
not sure why it works so well? thin rails, winger pintail? huge concaves?
or, maybe because the mast track is too far forward..?
whatever, its working for me.

If a board we were testing aced every challenge, we wrote it up as such and quickly moved to the next board. If it didn't, we'd experiment with such things as mast placement to give it a chance to shine, or at least dig itself out of the hole. One little Seatrend B&J board stands out in my mind 20 years later as a bouncy POS with the mast stepped in the middle of the track, but moving the mast forward just an inch absolutely transformed it into a neat board with a fine ride.

When experimentation is as simple as moving a mast or A-box fin fore'n'aft, screw theory and just experiment ... with one thing at a time.

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